Hydrogen Ignition Hazards in a Substation Connecting an Electrolyser to the Electricity Transmission NetworkShow others and affiliations
2026 (English)In: Hydrogen Safety, ISSN 2943-5935, Vol. 3, no 1, p. 163-181Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
As humanity seeks to decarbonise hard-to-abate sectors, electrolytic hydrogen production, based on renewable electricity, is expected to grow significantly. Co-location of hydrogen and electricity infrastructure is sometimes desirable for reasons of cost and practicality and is unavoidable at the electrical grid interface of an electrolyser. In this work, the risks of co-location for GW-scale hydrogen electrolysers and their grid-connection substation are explored in an interdisciplinary manner by considering the ignition sources presented by electrical substation infrastructure along with the accident scenarios that might arise with varying degrees of co-location, given the properties of hydrogen gas. Corona discharge and insulator discharge are identified as the two greatest hazards present. Mitigation measures are discussed in relation to the accident scenarios through a synthesis of electrical design and hydrogen fire safety design, considering jet flame and explosion risks with electrical assets as ignition sources. In many cases, ignition sources and fuel leak risk cannot be eliminated but physical separation and inclusion of barriers can offer adequate mitigation. Detailed recommendations for future research are identified.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
KIT Publishers, 2026. Vol. 3, no 1, p. 163-181
Keywords [en]
Collocation, Electricity, Electrolyser, Grid connection, Ignition hazards, Hydrogen, Mitigation, Power, Safety, Fire, Storage, Substation, Transmission, Transport
National Category
Energy Systems
Research subject
Fire Technology; Electric Power Engineering; Energy Engineering; Centre - Center for Hydrogen Energy Systems Sweden (CH2ESS)
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:ltu:diva-119461DOI: 10.58895/hysafe.44OAI: oai:DiVA.org:ltu-119461DiVA, id: diva2:2093336
Projects
Hydrogen Safety and Improved Permit Processes (H2SIPP)Forskning och Innovation i Norrbotten för Avancerad grön Stålframställning och Tillverkning (FINAST)
Note
Funder: Centre for Hydrogen Energy Systems Sweden (CH2ESS), TransNorr42;
Full text license: CC BY
2026-08-182026-08-182026-08-18Bibliographically approved